A fire in a church rectory in Ocean City Tuesday that left two dead began when a person on fire entered the ministry's offices, according to the Episcopal Diocese of Easton.

One of those killed in the three-alarm blaze was Rev. David Dingwall, the pastor of the church, St. Paul's By The Sea Episcopal, diocese officials said. The second man who died has not yet been publicly identified.

The fire began at around 9:25 a.m. in the rear offices of the rectory at 302 N. Baltimore Avenue "when a person on fire entered the Shepherd's Crook ministry offices," the diocese said on its website. Ocean City officials were not immediately available to confirm the information and provide more details.

One man was found dead in the building when first responders arrived, while two other people, including Dingwall, were critically injured. Though his condition stabilized at a local hospital in the afternoon, Dingwall succumbed to his injuries in the evening, according to Ocean City spokeswoman Jessica Waters and the diocese. It was not immediately clear if the other dead man was the person who ran into the building.

The fire escalated to a third-alarm but was brought under control quickly, Waters said.

The condition of the other injured person, a woman who was taken to Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center in Baltimore, was not immediately available.

Note: An earlier version of this story included an incorrect time reference. It has been corrected here.